HALCOMBE NOTES

Rangitikei Advocate and Manawatu Argus, Volume XLV, Issue 11927, 21 October 1919, Page 5

HALCOMBE NOTES

Frqm Onr Own Correspondent.

There was a hig crowd at Stanway Hall on Tuesday nightjat the welcome home to Private Lloyd James, The young soldier’s parents, who now live near Levin, came up for the occasion, and there were visitors from Palmerston, Feiidiug, Marton, Halcombe and other more or less important towns.. Most of the evening was devoted to dancing. There was a vocal duet by Misses P. and S. Clausen, of Palmerston, and a young lady from Whangarei, Miss Brake, danced a Sailor’s Hornpipe, both items being much applauded, Mr John Morrison, on behalf of residents of Stanway, presented Private James with a gold medal suitably inscribed, and in doing so said how pleased they were to see him again. He was the last of the Stan way boys to return home. It was a terrible drawback to have practically lost the use of hia arm. He thought all disabled and partly disabled men should be compensated. The country was in a position to look well after the material interests of her wounded heroes, No men more deserved liberal treatment than the New Zealanders. He hoped Private James would accept the medal as a mark of the Stanway people’s flove and esteem. The audience then sung “For He’s a Jolly Good Fellow,” and Private James replied with soldierly brevity. An excellent sapper, sup plied by Mr Woodcock, of Halcombe, and a few more dances brought the last welcome home in Stanway to a close. The “hard-up” dance in the Halcombe Hall on Thursday night was not so well attended as it might have been, considering the object for which It was got up. Those who did attend, however, had a good time. The ladies suppplied the supper, and if there is one thing Halcombe ladies know how to do better than another it is supplying suppers. Certainly on Thursday night there appeared enough to feed a battalion of hungry men. Dancing was kept up with great spirit until “‘all hours.” At Kakariki a concert and dance on Friday nigiit was held in the meeting house. There was the customary large crowd p rseent, Mrs Woodcock and Mrs Ollington di d the bulk of the playing. Shearing started in earnest last week in this locality. Several of our smaller flockmasfcers have had the woolly overcoats off their sheep for some weeks, but the bigger men have waited until the weather seemed more settled. Last season tha shearers got to work in September. The promise of an early spring was, however, not fulfilled. Cold wet weather set in, and the mortality among shorn sheep was heartbreaking, one farmer being reported to have lost over 120. What is the object of starting to shear so early? is what many of us ask, but never seem to get more than a vague answer. Talking about shearing, it is not ver}* generally known that in South Africa the custom is to shear sheep twice a year. This practice used to be followed in Tasmania years ago. Lambs’ wool often brought more than sheep’s wool; and some enterprising' sheepmen used to increase the supply by shearing the sheep with ten months’ clothes on them, and then, a couple of mouths later, harvesting a crop of lambs’ wool from the same animals. But that was in the bad old days. No one would think of doing that sort of thing now—we are all too honest.